The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday (August 21, 2026) alleged that, cornered over the “Vande Mataram” issue, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi attempted to divert public attention by holding a sit-in at the Parliament Street police station.

Mr. Gandhi staged a dharna at the police station, demanding the registration of a case in connection with pellet injuries sustained by 19-year-old Sahil Lochab during the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest.

BJP leader and Union Minister J.P. Nadda described the move as “cheap and diversionary politics”, saying that “Rahul Gandhi ji’s protest today is neither for students nor for justice; it is a symbol of the Congress party’s political desperation and Rahul Gandhi’s insatiable hunger for ‘footage’.”

Cites Supreme Court probe

Mr. Nadda said the Supreme Court has already taken cognisance of the July 20 incident and constituted a five-member high-powered committee headed by a former Judge. “When the country’s highest court is investigating the matter, what does Rahul Gandhi seek to prove by sitting outside a police station in front of the cameras? Has the Leader of Opposition lost faith in the country’s judiciary?,” he asked.

He said the police informed Mr. Gandhi that the Crime Branch was already conducting an intensive probe into all the cases related to July 20 and assured him that the incident flagged by him was also being referred to the Crime Branch. “Despite this clarification from the administration, sitting on a protest demonstrates Rahul Gandhi’s obstinacy and exposes the Congress party’s desperation,” said Mr. Nadda.

Questioning the timing of the sit-in, he said the Congress was cornered across the country over the issue of “Vande Mataram” and people were demanding answers from the party over the “insult to the National Song”.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated long ago that the Congress is a parasitic party. Whichever party associates itself with the Congress is eventually consumed by it; now, the Congress is hell-bent on destroying the future of children and students as well,” he said.

‘Politics of anarchy’

Former Union Minister and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad criticised Mr. Gandhi for staging a dharna without permission. He said the Congress was indulging in “the politics of anarchy to divert attention after being cornered on the issue of ‘Vande Mataram’”.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s decision to set up a high-powered committee, he asked: “But what is the meaning of this dharna? Does Rahul Gandhi have no respect for rules and laws? Will he simply go and sit on a dharna wherever he wishes and start creating anarchy?”

Mr. Prasad said the Congress’s stand on “Vande Mataram” had sent a message to the country that it was still the same party that, under pressure from the Muslim League and for “pro-Muslim appeasement”, had decided in 1937 to sing only two stanzas of the National Song. “The Congress party, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, is becoming a party of anarchy,” he added.

Published - August 21, 2026 10:29 pm IST